


Kitchen Countertops and Promises

by Anonymous



Category: Tiny Meat Gang (Band)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Love Confessions, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Slow Burn, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2019-12-06
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:35:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21576148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Basically Cody thinks Noel is very very pretty
Relationships: Cody Ko & Noel Miller, Cody Ko/Noel Miller
Comments: 12
Kudos: 85
Collections: Anonymous





	1. Chapter 1

Even though Noel had always seemed carefree and unguarded, Cody knew him better than that.

He knew that Noel had spent years building walls all around him and rarely ever let anyone through them, he never let himself expose his vulnerability to anyone.

Whenever Noel was sick, he would let Cody in a lot more than he ever had, but for Noel to be able to completely lay out his raw emotions; he had to be delirious.

It was one of those days Noel was sick with the flu, Cody was running a little errand for himself, and the thought of his ill friend surfaced in his brain. He decided he would pick up some of Noel's comfort foods and drop them off by his place.

It was a feeble attempt to make Noel feel better, but at least it was something.

Cody was greeted by a sniffling Noel, his nose was tinted with a shade of pink and he looked cold, but comfortable.

He had a TMG hoodie on and his warmest pair of socks pulled over his ankles. Cody was grateful that he was taking care of himself, at the very least, but chuckled at how easily something as insignificant as a flu was such a hindrance for Noel.

He decided he wanted to humour the sickly man a little longer and stepped into his apartment, listening each of Noel's complains and nodding along without giving them much importance.

He padded towards the kitchen and begun preparing Noel the chicken noodle soup he bought for him, the older man followed suit.

A comforting silence surrounded them while they waited on the soup.

Noel decided to break the silence by mentioning someone on his twitter had tagged him in a video to react to. He surely wasn't in any state to film, and they already had a few videos they wanted to react to lined up, so they decided to watch the video stood side by side, leaning against the kitchen countertop.

Noel pulled it up on his phone, and after he groaned about how small the screen was, he reluctantly walked to his living room to fetch his laptop.

Cody poured the soup into a bowl and handed it to Noel, who claimed the soup was too hot and set it aside, but stood in place and played the video with a silent glee, whispering to himself, "this is going to be fun."

The video was about weird fetishes, which Cody would've been entranced by; but there was something stopping him. He tried to assess the situation to gauge why he was so distracted, but his breath hitched ever so slightly when he felt Noel's fingers slightly brush over his own where their hands were placed behind them, his sickly friends shoulder lightly pushed up against his.

Noel had never been the 'touchy-feely' type of person.

Occasionally, when their knees bumped when they were sat beside each other, he still felt the need to apologise to Cody.

The fact that Noel was snug against his friend was completely lost on him, but that was when Cody realised; Noel's walls had unknowingly crumbled, and for once in their friendship, he was expressing himself without holding anything back.

Cody was almost too afraid to look at his friend.

He was afraid he would fall to the point of no return if he even glanced at Noel.

He couldn't help himself, he looked at the brown eyed man when he burst into a fit of laughter, and what Cody saw was almost... ethereal.

Noel had never looked more beautiful; the pink on his nose flush against the beautiful tan of the rest of his skin. The dim overhead lights made him glow and his skin looked golden, the presence of his neglected facial hair accentuated the sharp cut of his jaw. His hair was messy and undone, it looked soft and little curls clung to his forehead.

Cody wanted nothing more than to card his hands through Noel's hair.

He threw his head back with his hand resting lightly above his abdomen, the corners of his eyes crinkled, and tightly closed the way they did whenever Noel found something exceptionally hilarious.

They reopened slowly, to reveal the pure hazel that his eyelids had kept hidden. Under the warm light, Noel's eyes looked almost strikingly green, Cody was transfixed by the sight of them.

The dark haired man wiped his tears away and tried to catch his breath, without realising that his companion hadn't been laughing along with him the whole time.

When Noel began laughing again, it echoed throughout the walls of the kitchen, it was musical.

The ghost of a smile tugged at the corners of Cody's lips, but he tried to keep his face as neutral as he could possibly manage.

He had succeeded, until he felt his pinky finger being wrapped around by Noel's, like they were mimicking a promise. Cody's grin nearly split his face into two at the thought of that; at the idea that maybe Noel was promising him something.

Something he would never say, but hoped to convey with the subtlety of his actions. 

When Noel turned to look at him and they locked eyes, Cody was catapulted back to reality and felt his heart beat in his ears, he was afraid Noel would be able to hear his heart just as well as he could.

Colour quickly rushed to his face, heat nipped at the tips of his ears, and he had to tear his gaze away from Noel to focus his eyes back onto his laptop.

Cody wanted to be swallowed up by the ground within that second. He was terrified that Noel would be weirded out and move away from him, but he knew something this small wouldn't jeopardise their friendship.

When Noel turned to watch the video again, despite his best efforts, Cody looked back at him and was mesmerised yet again.

The first thought that came into his head after the eternal seconds he spent watching Noel was, "wow."

Then a few several seconds later, "oh," realising what this feeling he had been unknowingly suppressing meant.

Immediately, he turned his reddened face away from Noel, for fear that the older man would ask questions. 

As if Noel could read Cody's mind, he let go of their pinkies and intertwined their fingers, leaning closer into Cody's side.

Confused, he turned to look at the tan man, the very moment their eyes met; Cody felt his whole world shatter around him.

Noel looked at him as if he was the only thing in the world; his brilliant eyes sifting through all of the younger mans' thoughts. The softest smile grazed Noel's lips, his normally unnoticeable dimple looked endlessly deeper, due to the shadows that played on his face.

The pink tint on his nose slowly starting to envelop his cheeks, making the freckles dusted across his face seem more striking, and creating a stunning colour that Cody had never seen before.

Fear rose in his chest again when he realised that, with each passing minute, Noel had started to look more and more gorgeous in the light haired mans eyes.

Cody could've sworn that he felt like his heart was going to explode at that very moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this obviously isn't the best but comments would be much appreciated!!
> 
> also kelsey and aleena are my queens. this is purely a work of fiction and in no way portrays the boys and their real life relationships :^)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> nothing really happens in this chapter?? i just wanted to put in a small filler but i got too carried away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> disclaimer: this is a work of fiction and does not represent how i perceive these individuals, or invalidate their sexualities. only respect 4 the short kings and their real life significant others!
> 
> some of you wanted more of this, so i was inspired to add more chapters :)

Cody's maddeningly quick heart rate was abruptly stopped by the rapping of knuckles on Noel's door.

He hadn't realised how far in he'd fallen until he physically jumped at the sound of Spock's loud voice calling for Noel from behind the wooden barrier, accidentally lightly yanking at his counterparts fingers, who quickly let go of Cody's hand.

Until right before then, Cody wasn't sure if he'd ever felt more grateful for the invention of locks.

There was no way he would be able to explain why the two of them looked like they were trying to reenact a scene from a cheesy romance movie.

When Noel looked at him expectantly, Cody clumsily hurried towards the door, stumbling over himself more times than he thought possible.

'What the fuck? What the fuck?'

Cody kept repeating to himself, almost as if it were a mantra, pretending like it would answer any of the endless thoughts shooting through his head.

He opened the door to a grumbling Spock, who immediately dapped him up, and brushed by him to check on their friend.

"Am I interrupting something? Took you long enough to open the damn door." He inquired harmlessly, expecting no response.

The blood violently rushed back into the younger mans head, causing him to walk directly into kitchen island.

He was probably overreacting, but Cody was convinced he destroyed the smallest toe on his left leg by jamming it directly into the corner of a hard surface.

He bit down on his tongue to make sure he didn't yell, only increasing the amount of pain he had to endure.

Spock was at a loss of words. This was Cody's second home, he was there so often, he would be able to navigate through every nook and cranny with ease and without mistake, with his eyes closed.

How did he manage to walk directly into the kitchen island?

Both Noel and his long haired friend grimaced at the thought of how heavy the impact was. This was the first time either of them had ever seen Cody like this, sober.

He was a clumsy drunk, he stumbled around and slurred his words. Sometimes he would say garbled things that sounded like they were that of a foreign language, but all anyone had to do was nod along and pretend like they understood what he said, and he would beam with joy.

It was almost childlike, the way he got excited when someone understood what he was saying when he was drunk. But he would never remember it the next morning, and no one would ever remind him.

It was the unspoken secret with all his friends.

They never knew exactly why they all chose to keep it from Cody, all they knew was that it was tooth-rottingly adorable to see him swell with such innocent pride.

Although it was excusable when he was drunk, seeing him be such a klutz, fully sober, was somewhat worrying; to say the least.

He exhaled heavily, and set his hovering foot back onto the ground. He tried to play it off, but couldn't shake the slight temporary limp.

The steady wave of embarrassment Cody felt wasn't wavering at all, feeling like they could film a That's Cringe just watching him. He winced internally, wishing Spock wasn't there to see any of this.

"You okay?" Spock asked, sounding more confused than worried.

Cody gave him a curt nod and a small smile, then looked down to assess his toe.

He couldn't see at all through his sock, making him feel a little dumb for thinking he'd be able to examine it, but he felt it throbbing. He knew in the next few minutes it would swell.

He also knew that he would wake up the next morning to an especially nasty bruise decorating his foot.

He looked back up and Noel's eyes met with his, the priors expression inexplicably softer.

Cody was almost convinced that he was going to pass out from how much- and how quickly the blood was rushing in and out of his face. His heart beat so fast; that he could almost feel a faint ache starting to grow in his chest.

Noel's brows furrowed, and Cody realised that he was probably just worried about his friend.

Before Noel could say anything, the paler man dismissively stated that he was just tired. Not wanting to pry further, Spock quickly changed the conversation.

"Anyway, I just came by because a little bird told me you're deathly sick, and I wanted to make sure I'm a part of the will."

The weak chuckle and lack of a witty response worried Spock, who was now sure that Noel probably felt terrible.

"Have you eaten anything yet, man?"

"Yeah, I was about to, Cody made me soup."

Spock turned to look at Cody stood by the island, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. He was already too worried about their sickly friend, he didn't have the energy to worry about the new-found klutz.

Sensing that neither of them were at their best, Spock decided for both him and Cody; that they would leave Noel to rest.

And hopefully, some alone time for Cody would fix whatever was going on with him.

The light haired man was oddly grateful to Spock for his suggestion, he would be able to get away from Noel and try solve his internal conflict about why he was feeling... things, for his best friend.

And why this wasn't the first time he was experiencing the same emotions for the same man.


	3. Chapter 3

As Cody drove back home after leaving Noel to dwell in his sickness; his heart never ceased pounding. Even as Spock made small talk with him, he couldn't take his mind off Noel, and why he felt an incessant sense of guilt for leaving him on his own.

When he stepped into his car, his thoughts ran wild. Noel was the sick one, but could Cody have imagined everything that happened? Could he have imagined Noel's warm skin on his?

If he did- why would his brain ever want him to imagine such a thing? Why wasn't Cody satisfied with just their friendship?

All these questions came down to one answer.

Something he wanted to hide from himself.

Something he would never admit to another living soul.

Cody would never admit how gorgeous he thought Noel looked when he let his stubble grow out.

How he would avoid any physical contact with him after he'd just looked into his eyes; for he was afraid the dark haired man would feel how hard Cody's heart was beating.

He would never let Noel notice that whenever he touched him; he would let his hand linger for a little longer than it should.

He would never let him notice the hitch in his breath when Noel absentmindedly ran his hands through his hair.

He would never let Noel catch a glimpse of Cody's smile whenever he would look away.

He would never let Noel know that he was in love with him.

It took everything in the younger man to make sure he didn't notice the smaller, more irrelevant details in Noel, but he did.

He always did. 

He noticed the light dimple beside his smile, the light dust of freckles adorning his skin, the grace of his calloused fingertips, the way his eyes seemed to change colour at different times of the day.

And he adored all of it.

Cody wanted to act like he didn't see any of those things, best friends weren't supposed to know all that.

And whenever they touched, Cody wanted to pretend that it wasn't real; but it was always electric. It was as if harsh volts of electricity were being passed through the dirty blonds hyper sensitive skin.

The jolts of electricity surging through his skin and into his veins made him feel more alive than he had ever been.

The younger man ached for more.

He needed more; but it would be foolish for him to even think that there was an opportunity for anything more.

It hurt more than anything he'd ever felt before, it was like someone grabbed his heart and pressed down on it with unforgiving force.

His chest was always tight- it was almost torture.

He wanted to turn his back on his best friend; he thought it was unfair to Noel that he harboured such feelings for him. But everytime he thought about leaving Noel, it was almost too much for him to bear.

He selfishly wanted to stay by Noel's side for as long as he could, there wasn't a single other person in the world that could keep him grounded in the way the brown eyed man could.

For Cody, Noel was the most beautiful person he'd ever come across, both inside and out. He treasured him more than most people, and things. It was painfully cliché, but he would do almost anything to make sure that the older man never felt an ounce of sadness, as long as he was around.

It was as though the weight on his heart got heavier with each passing day, progressively getting worse each time he was near Noel.

But it was always easy to bear with the pain, no matter how hard it got, because even though it was for a fleeting moment; the mere sight of Noel's blindingly bright smile lifted all the weight off Cody. 

As much as his feelings for Noel caused blond pain, Noel was the only one that could ease his suffering. All it took was a glimpse at the joy he seemingly experienced when he was around the younger man.

But he would never let Noel know that.

Cody tried for years and years to convince himself that everything he felt was just innocent, platonic love. He managed to fool himself for the past couple of months too- right up until he placed his hands on his steering wheel.

All his buried feelings and thoughts finally surfaced, and he felt like he was drowning.

The familiar ache in his chest finding solace in his heart.

He would never be able to run away from these feelings, he would never be able to see Noel in the same way that he saw Devon; someone he loved with true innocence.

It was never a battle because Noel was a man, Cody knew his whole life that his sexuality wasn't bound by gender. He spent many sleepless college nights with people regardless of their genitalia and gender identity.

But this was different.

He had never felt such raw and strong emotions for anyone he'd ever met.

He never really knew how pure and destructive love could be, before Noel came into his life.

He never knew what love really was until Noel came into his life.

The unadulterated ecstasy that Cody felt when the older man smiled, a little brighter at him than at anyone else, was damn near addictive.

The intensity of emotions that Cody felt each time he was with Noel was unmatched.

And it terrified him.

It terrified him to admit to himself that he was immensely in love with Noel Miller.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uhh just a small psa: english isn't my first language so there could be some errors in this that i didn't clock so please b nice :)
> 
> bigger psa: i fully respect the boys' real life relationships and significant others. this is purely a work of fiction


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